BGR Prescribes Walgreens DC Push

Fri., Nov. 2, 2018

BGR Government Affairs is representing giant drugstore retailer Walgreens in its Washington push.

The firm provides policy analysis, strategic advice and direct advocacy support to Walgreens.

Dave Boyer, head of BGR's health and life sciences practice, heads a five-member lobbying team

The group includes Remy Brim, ex-senior policy advisor at the Food & Drug Administration; Brent Del Monte, aide to former Virginia Sen. John Warner (R); John Stone, former senior counsel at the House Energy & Commerce Committee's health subcommittee and Rob Walton, former staffer for Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R).

Walgreens, which is based in Deerfield, IL, is part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance venture that bills itself as the "first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise."

It operates about 18,500 stores in 11 countries and runs drug wholesale and distribution centers that deliver products to more than 230K hospitals, clinics, doctors, pharmacies and health centers.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, which includes drug retailer Rite-Aid, chalked up $131B in fiscal 2018 revenues and $5B in net income.

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Nov. 5, 2018, by Ronald N. Levy

It may be admirably trusting and forgiving to retain BGR in spite of the dropping of Saudi Arabia when there was an accusation. It's somewhat like hiring someone who had sued his or her former employer. It's possible the former employer was guilty of something or that the country of Saudi Arabia was guilty.

Some PR firms, if an account were accused, might defend intensely with even PR firm people not on the account volunteering ideas or helping to defend the account off the clock. But other PR firms might prefer having nothing to do with an accused account.

An assumption may be that if someone in government were guilty, the prince must have known about it. But for years I employed over 100 people and not once did anyone confide to me that he had committed a crime or was planning to. And one could argue that "presumption of innocence" isn't that great an idea since some people accused may be guilty, perhaps most of them.

Some people might feel that Khashoggi was a clearly a traitor who intentionally injured his whole native land, an that he taunted his country, daring anyone to get even, by applying "for a wedding license" to the embassy rather than to a Turkish or U.S. marriage license bureau. But perhaps any country where even a traitor is killed is not a country as good as ours.

But in some ways may it be? Do most major countries have overly patriotic people who do violence that most of us wouldn't do? Do such people make our whole country or our government--or Saudi Arabia's country and government--guilty?

Nov. 2, 2018, by Ronald N. Levy

BGR is VERY good, one of the best (look at the talent it put on the account) so it's not surprising that BGR was chosen. But since BGR dropped Saudi Arabia when a PR crisis began, rather than helping that account defend itself, it's impressive that BGR could sell Walgreens on the idea that "we abandoned them but we'd never abandon you."

I'd guess that almost certainly BGR was pushed into the abandonment by parent WPP, which has a European board of mainly financial types. But it's impressive that this great Washington PR firm could convince the vulnerable new account that WPP won't do it again.